Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie Recipe

The other evening, I made a vegetarian shepherd’s pie and it was too delicious not to share the recipe with you! I had the idea of adding balsamic vinegar to the mince mixture and it was such a great decision. It made the tomato sauce taste all vibrant and rich. Think intense flavours but without the addition of meat. There is such a lovely comforting feeling about having mash potato with a meal and I think shepherd’s pie is a great dish to have on a dark cold winter’s day. I really hope you enjoy the recipe! From now on I will be adding balsamic vinegar to lots of dishes!

Recipe (serves 4)

500g Quorn mince

680g passata

1 vegetable stock cube mixed with 200ml boiling water

1 tsp thyme

1 tsp rosemary

1 tsp basil

Salt and pepper to season

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

4 medium carrots

160g peas

1 white onion

2 cloves of garlic crushed

1 tbsp oil (olive, avocado or coconut)

Mash topping:

4 medium baking potatoes

1 tbsp milk

Generous knob of butter

Salt and pepper to season

Method

Dice the onion and gently fry it in the oil on a medium heat until soft and tender. Add a little water to stop the onion from burning and this will steam the onion. Dice the carrots into small chunks and add this to the pan. Sauté this with the lid on until soft (about 5-10 minutes).

Add the Quorn mince to the vegetables and cook for a further 5 minutes with the lid on. Next add the frozen peas, vegetable stock and crushed garlic. Cook until soft (about 10 minutes).

Next add the thyme, rosemary, basil, salt and pepper, balsamic vinegar and passata to the pan and gently simmer for a further 5 minutes. Leave to cool slightly whilst preparing the potatoes – this will help the potato mash spread more easily.

Peel the potatoes and dice them into 2cm cubes. Cover them with water in a saucepan and cook for about 10 minutes after the water has come to the boil. When they are soft, drain them and mash them. Add the milk, butter, salt and pepper and mash until soft and fluffy.

Dish the mince and vegetable filling into an oven proof dish. I like to use two small ones and then freeze one of the finished dishes for an instant ready meal another night.

Dollop the mash on top evenly across the top and spread with a palette knife. If you want, you can make pretty patterns with the back of a fork.

Cook in a preheated oven at 180oC for about 35-40 minutes until golden brown. Enough time to clear the kitchen up and have a little sit down!